5 Items You Have At Home That You Can Use As Homemade Lube

Using a beauty product down to the last drop and having an "empty," can be a moment of pride and a sign of a quality product. But if you reach for your favorite bottle of lube in the middle of sex and it's empty, that's just inconvenient. The good news is there are a few household products that, when chosen wisely, can double as lubricant.

Finding a lubricant that works for you and your partner is very personal. Some lubes work better for a specific type of sex (such as anal), and others have ingredients that are tailored for people with a specific skin type. Though there are tons of options out there, they all do effectively the same thing, which is make sex slipperier. You have to be careful any time you put something in or around your vagina, though, because there's a possibility that the foreign substance could alter your vagina's pH and possibly cause an infection, such as a yeast infection or bacterial vaginosis.

"There are lots of organic lubes sold that have good ingredients, but even those have things that could cause a yeast infection," says Megan Stubbs, a certified sexologist.

Some ingredients, like oil, can wear down a latex condom, she adds. So it's a good idea to communicate with your partner about both of your STI statuses and birth control methods, so you can make informed decisions about what kind of calculated risk you're willing to take, Stubbs says. "Know that there's a possibility for the condom to break [if you use an oil-based lube], and weigh out the pros and cons if that situation were to occur," she says.

Also, before you use any type of lube for the first time, Stubbs suggests rubbing some on your skin and seeing if it causes any type of reaction. If you have any qualms at all, you should ask your doctor if it would be okay for you to use something as lube. Here are a few non-lube foods and household items that you could try using as a personal lubricant.